Chapter 11
It seemed everyone was dating someone, except for Al and me. To console myself one day in early March, I pulled out my photo album. Being Muggle- born, I still got a thrill from seeing photos move. I gazed at the first few pages, remembering past trips to Hogsmede and visits to each other's houses.
My, how small we all were! We'd gotten taller (save for Ella, who was short), different haircuts, glasses, braces, everything. Al resembled his father very closely now. Rose's hair had gotten so long! What in Merlin's name was I wearing?
Oh, look, it's the time we played Quidditch at the Weasley's house and Al fractured his arm when he fell off his broom trying to catch the Snitch. Somehow, he'd still managed to grab it and win us the game. And the time Ella and I performed a skit we wrote. Ah, that was funny. Such good times.
Feeling much better, I went alone to breakfast and ran straight into someone as I turned a corner.
"Sorry, so sorry," the person said as they helped me up. I had fallen backwards on my bum. I looked up into the face of the handsomest being ever to walk the earth.
"Are you alright?" he asked, turning red. I could feel my face doing the very same thing.
"Yes, I'm fine." What is his name? I desperately wanted to ask, but I couldn't bring myself to. He was still holding my arm from helping me up. He realized this and let go, going even redder. The mystery boy nervously ran a hand through his hair.
Come on, you can do this, I coached myself. You've talked to James the Jerk and Orion the Idiot. You surely can talk to whoever this guy is. You know you'll regret it if you don't and he leaves.
"I was just going to breakfast," I said. "Would you care to join me?"
"Oh. Um, sure," the boy said.
"What's your name?" I decided to ask right out.
"William," he answered.
"I'm Mae," I said. "I'm a fifth year in Gryffindor. What about you?"
"Sixth year Ravenclaw."
Hmm. Not much of a talker. At least he agreed to walk with me, I said to myself. His silence was discouraging, however, and I found myself not really knowing what to say.
We arrived at the Great Hall. "I have to go over to the Ravenclaw table now, since I'm a Ravenclaw and I have to sit with other Ravenclaws…" William trailed off.
"Right. I'll see you another time, then, shall I?"
William nodded, turning red again. "'Bye."
I smiled at him, and then we went our separate ways.
Ella managed to tear herself away from Orion to come sit with me. "I saw that," she said matter-of-factly.
"Saw what?" I said, breaking into a grin.
"You were flirting with that bloke," Ella said, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. "What's his name?"
"William. And I wasn't exactly flirting, seeing as he doesn't talk very much."
"Just start at the beginning."
So I told her the whole story. At the end, she said, "I wonder why we haven't seen him around."
"That's what I thought," I said as I scanned the Ravenclaw table. "Look, there he is. You know, when you really look, there are a lot of people we don't know around here. We only notice the louder people." At this, I gave Ella a look.
"Bah, so what if Orion's a bit on the outgoing side?" she said, waving a hand. "Ooh! He sees you! Smile at him!"
"Would you relax?" I asked her, but I smiled anyway. He gave a small smile in return.
"What's going on?" Al asked, leaving his Quidditch teammates and joining us.
"Nothing," Ella said quickly. "See you, Mae. Orion calls."
I needed to know more about William. Since he was in sixth year, I decided to ask James Potter. I was rather shocked to find James that evening in the library. He was sitting at one of the tables, holding up a large book.
"Hello, James. What are you do-" I asked, but was cut off by him yanking me down to hide behind the book with him.
"Shh!" he said. "Listen, I need your help."
"Good, because I was coming to ask you for help, too," I whispered.
"Hold that thought," James said as he looked around the book. "See that girl?"
"Which one?"
"The one with the blonde hair- aren't you friends with her?"
"Well, we're not exactly friends, but I know her," I answered, seeing the girl he was talking about.
"What's her name?"
"Erin. Why, do you like her or something?"
"I don't know, I haven't talked to her yet. I didn't know her name."
"You could've asked her yourself."
"Don't be daft."
"Thanks. See if I ever help you again." I left to leave.
"I'm sorry. Come back and I'll see if I can help you," James said, pulling me down again.
"Why are you hiding, anyway?" I pushed the book down.
"It would be weird if I stared at her- at Erin- outright, wouldn't it?" he asked, putting the book up again.
"Are you scared to talk to her?"
"No!" he said defensively. "Just ask whatever you're going to ask."
I inquired after William, but James wasn't much help. "He's a quiet fellow," was James' reply.
"Yes, I gathered that," I said impatiently. "Anything else?"
"Well, I think Orion and I pranked him once," James said thoughtfully.
"James!"
"What? He's an easy target. Anyway, why don't you talk to him yourself? Or are you scared?" he mocked.
"I already did talk to him, I'll have you know. Now come on, I'll introduce you to Erin."
I won the short argument that followed, and then I basically dragged James to Erin's table. She was alone, fortunately. As I introduced them, I saw William out of the corner of my eye. He was leaving the library.
"I have to go," I told James. "'Bye, Erin."
I walked quickly out of the library and almost ran down the hall to William. I slowed and fell into step with him.
"Hi, William," I said brightly, hoping I didn't sound terribly out of breath. He glanced at me with a sad look clouding his blue-green eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said, staring at his feet. After a pause, he asked nervously, "Are you… friends with James Potter?"
I snorted. "Hardly." William looked up at this. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, I just saw you in the library, and…"
"Oh, no, he was just asking me to help set him up with a girl. Nope, I'm a lot closer to his brother, Albus. Al and Rose and Ella are my best friends," I told him.
"Did one of them give you that necklace?"
He'd seen the heart necklace Al had given me. I rarely took it off. However, I didn't think it would be smart to mention that another boy had given it to me, so I just said, "Yes."
"The clasp fell. Here, I'll fix it," he said. I let him move the clasp back up to its place behind my neck. For a moment, his hand rested there. I gave a small and, I hoped, inaudible gasp. He sensed it, however, and quickly dropped his hands to his sides.
"Sorry," he said, going red for the umpteenth time.
"It's quite alright," I whispered, scarcely able to breathe. "It's getting late; I should go," I said after a moment. I turned to leave and head back to the common room.
"Wait!" William called after me when I had almost rounded the corner. I stopped and he caught up with me. "May I walk you to your common room?"
I smiled and said yes. On the way, I had a pleasant conversation with William as I slowly got to know him more. We had a silent mutual agreement to be in no hurry to get to the common room, but it had to happen in the end.
I was just wondering how to speak the password without William hearing when the portrait door swung open and Al emerged. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, seeing the two of us.
"Oh, no," I said quickly, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. "I was just coming in. Goodnight, William."
"Goodnight," he replied. Then he smiled. A real, genuine smile. And oh, what a smile it was! I felt like swooning.
"Who's this William guy?" Al asked as we climbed into the common room.
"I just met him today. He's very nice."
"Is he in our year?"
"No, he's a year older."
"What house is he in?"
"Ravenclaw. Why all these questions? Hey, Ella!"
"Yes, dearie?" Ella looked up from her journal. Lately, all she ever did was write in there or snog Orion.
"Guess what just happened?" I told her about William. She squealed.
"What's with you lot and dating Ravenclaws?" Al asked.
I blushed. "I'm not dating him, Al, I just met him."
"First Rose dates Jacob, then Ella dates James Trenton, and then you with this William fellow-"
"I'm not dating him!"
"You might as well be! I saw the way you looked at each other," Al said angrily.
This wasn't right. Al and I never fought over anything more serious than the last piece of cake or who got to sit in the comfortable chair. I supposed he was only watching out for me, like he had when Rose first started dating Jacob. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm not going to get hurt or anything-"
Al laughed humourlessly. "It's always about you, isn't it? Did you ever think that maybe I'm talking about someone else's feelings, for once? That maybe someone else would get hurt?"
I was shocked into silence as he stormed up the stairs. My mind filled with questions. What did he mean, 'someone else would get hurt'? After a moment, I looked around as I realized everyone in the common room was silently staring at me. Rose and James seemed as stunned as I was, Ella was gaping, and even Orion looked bewildered. Embarrassed to have all eyes on me, I did the ever- so- mature thing: I ran away to hide in the girls' dormitory.
I closed the curtains around my bed and sank down, shaken. "Mae?" I heard Ella enter. I didn't answer. I thought if I spoke, I'd start crying. "I'm going back downstairs, then," Ella said after pausing.
The longer I thought, the angrier I became at Al. He couldn't tell me who I was allowed to like! And he ruined my excitement. Now I had to go to bed mad at him instead of thinking of William.
I would truly appreciate reviews! All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling. All other characters (aka Ella, Mae, and such) are mine.
